untitled
by bookwormqueen
Summary: What happens when you lock Saavik up?
1. Part 1

Spock landed the shuttle in a small clearing and shut down the engines. Saavik scrambled out of her seat and started for the door. She knew Spock watched her, but she didn't care. Her fingers had almost touched the controls when Spock asked, "Where are you going?" She sighed and dropped her hand.  
"Nowhere," she muttered sullenly. Spock looked at her, and she returned to her seat. Scowling, she took the padd he offered her and began to read.  
  
Several hours later, Saavik threw the padd onto the console in front of her, kicked off her shoes and socks, put her feet up on the console, and slumped in her chair, scowl firmly planted on her face. She was bored. More than that, she was trapped. It had been several weeks since she had last roamed on a planet's surface, and she was feeling caged.  
None of this had been her idea in the first place. Spock had suggested she take a break from her formal schooling and visit him for a month. He had arranged a two-month break for her: a week's travel to meet him, another week's travel to a planet he'd chosen, a month on the planet, a week spent traveling to meet the Enterprise, and another week to get back to the school. Everything had gone wrong from the start. Her first transport had been delayed at a resupply stop, and she'd been forced to spend three days on Deep Space 12 before continuing her journey. The route Spock had chosen brought their shuttle through half a dozen ion storms, knocking out their navigational computers and somehow deleting all the star charts while leaving the rest of the database intact. They had been flying manually for nearly a week, looking for something only Spock knew how to find. Saavik was tired of being in space, of being indoors, of not being outside. And now that they had finally landed on a planet, he wasn't allowing her to so much as open the door! Instead, she had to study. Study! As if her studying would get them anywhere faster. She wanted to be outside, scouting around, exploring, not sitting here in this cramped, stuffy shuttle doing homework!  
Having gotten no response from her mentor at her defiant, sulky posture, Saavik stood and began to pace the confines of the four-man shuttlecraft. More spacious than its predecessors, it was still tiny compared to a starship – or a planet. She prowled the cabin unpredictably, opening every storage space, going through everything. Spock continued to ignore her for nearly an hour, until her restlessness began to grate on his nerves.  
"Saavik, please be still. You are distracting me." She ignored him and continued pacing, out of spite rather than a desire to continue. "Saavik. Why will you not be still?"  
"I need to stretch."  
"Fine. Please do not move quite so much as you do so." Saavik growled and continued her endless pacing.  
  
Saavik crouched in the shadows, watching the hunters as they carried their small game into the village. She had been observing the villagers for two days now, and while they seemed primitive - hunting and farming for food, using simple tools, with no obvious technology more advanced than absolutely necessary – they were clearly more sophisticated: their clothes were stain- and tear-resistant, they made use of radio communications, they had electric lighting, and their tools were made of high-quality plastics and metal alloys.  
Saavik froze, her senses on high alert, as a footstep rustled the leaves behind her. The hunter seemed to sense her, but was apparently unable to locate her, as he moved on. She waited several minutes more, then crept back toward the shuttle.  
Spock didn't even glance up as Saavik entered the shuttle, the door closing quietly behind her. She settled in her seat and picked up her padd and stylus, her mind already back on her studies. Spock had finally allowed her to wander outside, as long as she returned within an hour. After dark, however, he refused to let her outside. He insisted she sleep, but she could not. There was too much to see, to do, to explore. There was no time for sleep. And with sleep came the nightmares. She hated the nightmares, so she did not sleep until her body forced her to, and even then sometimes she did not sleep.  
  
Saavik squirmed in her seat. Something was wrong. What, she could not be sure. Spock seemed oblivious, his eyes closed in meditation or sleep. She waited, holding her breath, then determined Spock was asleep. Rising from her chair, she crept stealthily toward the door panel. Just as she reached the controls, Spock cautioned, "Do not open the door, Saavik." She cursed silently. How did he do that? No matter how sneaky she was, no matter what she did, he always knew when she was about to disobey him. She would have to work on that.  
"Why not?" she whispered.  
"Because I said so." Saavik cursed him again. He was being deliberately difficult! He knew perfectly well such an answer would only cause her to open the door. Her finger hovered above the switch. "There is something out there, Saavik. Do not open the door." He was asking for it, he really was. She pressed the button and the door slid open.  
A startled hunter spun, leveling his hi-tech spear at her. Saavik launched herself at him, leaping over the spear and knocking him to the ground. He called out as she pinned him to the forest floor, one hand around his throat, poised to kill. Spock stood just outside the shuttle, phaser held loosely in his hand. The phaser fell to the ground as half a dozen spears were leveled at the occupants of the clearing. A guttural voice ground out a few syllables. Saavik stood and offered her hand to the hunter. He took it and stood. He spoke, a long string of syllables. The universal translator digested this for a long moment, then said, "You welcome are, warrior noble. I Hachsem am. You to village ours come. You there welcome are."  
Saavik blinked, then shook her head. She opened her mouth to refuse, but Spock spoke first. "We are honored, Hachsem." He bent down, picked up his phaser, and slipped it inside his robes. As he passed Saavik, he grabbed her arm and hissed, "Just act like you belong, Saavikam. And next time, do as I say!" They walked in silence to the village. 


	2. Part 2

Saavik stood in the doorway of the room she and Spock had been given. It was tiny, with barely enough room for the bed, dresser, and small desk. Spock stood behind her, waiting for her to enter the room. "Saavik," he prompted, "don't just stand there." Saavik waited another two minutes before entering.  
Spock sat at the desk, pulling a handful of padds out of his pocket. Saavik tried to pace, but the room was too cramped. "I'm going outside," she announced.  
"Put your shoes on," Spock reminded her. She kicked them under the bed.  
The villagers were quite friendly, willing to answer questions or simply let her observe. They treated Saavik with respect, reverence even, and she didn't understand why. The translator continued to make hash of their language, however, and she never really understood the answers the villagers gave her. She did understand their requests not to wander the forest alone, which made her want to do so all the more.  
  
"Where are you going?" Spock demanded, his eyes still closed as he lay on the bed. Saavik paused in the doorway.  
"Out."  
"Put your shoes on." He had learned long ago not to restrict her nighttime activities. She never slept unless absolutely necessary, and it was impossible for her to keep still. Outdoors was the only place big enough to satisfy her.  
Saavik left the village swiftly, making no sound as she moved. The planet was a basic earth-type, and so far Saavik had encountered no evidence of nighttime predators or other nasty surprises, not counting the vague half-translated warnings of the villagers. She moved from shadow to shadow, senses alert, her quick mind absorbing, processing, and analyzing her surroundings. She prowled restlessly, going nowhere in particular, waiting for something to catch her interest. It was early, just before dawn, when a looming shadow and the rustle of an early riser suddenly reminded her of It. Suddenly terrified, she ran back to the village, finding the small house she was staying in and crawling under the covers. A hand gripped her shoulder and she screamed, clawing at Its face.  
She blinked and sat up when Spock turned the light on. She winced when she saw the green trails of blood flowing like tearstains down his face.  
"Saavikam, calm down." He waited until she met his gaze. "What happened?"  
"Nothing," she mumbled, turning away. He turned her head until she faced him again.  
"It was not 'nothing,' Saavikam. You came running in here as though the Eater of Souls himself was after you. Tell me what happened."  
"NOTHING!" she shouted. "Just leave me alone!"  
"Saavik –"  
"I hate you! You never let me do anything! All you do is ask questions! I hate you! Leave me alone!" Saavik pushed Spock aside and ran out of the room, determined not to cry. 


	3. Part 3

Spock was shaken violently awake by one of the natives. "Wife hurt yours!" he babbled urgently. "Must come you!"  
Spock dressed quickly, concerned for his student. What trouble had she gotten herself into this time? He followed his babbling guide deep into the forest. Saavik lay, bleeding and unconscious, at the base of a tree. Her leg was bent at an odd angle, and the gashes on her face and arms spoke of a violent struggle. There was no sign of her opponent, though a handful of onlookers ringed the clearing.  
"Touch her we not," one woman, the village healer, announced. "Allow touch we her not."  
Spock ignored the villagers, kneeling down beside Saavik and reaching out to check her pulse. He had barely touched her when she jerked away, smearing green blood on the ground and further damaging her broken leg. He tried again, with the same results.  
"Saavikam, at least let me carry you back to the village!" he whispered fiercely in Vulcan. She must have heard him, for she allowed him to pick her up and bring her back to the village. The only sign of consciousness was her reaction any time someone tried to touch her. Spock managed to hold her still long enough for the village healer to set and splint her broken leg, but treating her scratches proved to be impossible. Spock brought her back to their tiny room and watched her sleep.  
  
Saavik lay still, her eyes closed, cursing fate. During her wandering the day before, she had encountered her first large predator. The creature had clawed her badly, but it was apparently not used to prey that fought back and eventually left her alone. Its claws must have been poisonous, though, for she had developed a fever, mild enough to be no danger, but disorienting enough to impair her judgement and coordination. She had fallen off a small cliff and broken her leg, then attempted to crawl back to the village. In her fevered half-conscious state, she had remembered only that she hated someone, thus her violent reaction whenever someone tried to touch her. Now she lay quietly, feigning sleep, trying to remember, cursing when she could not. Eventually, despite her best efforts, she fell asleep, slipping effortlessly into a healing trance.  
  
Spock dozed in his chair as he watched Saavik sleep. Her breathing changed as she entered a healing trance, and Spock waited ten minutes before approaching her. His fingers barely touched her face, his thoughts sliding easily between hers. With effort, he centered himself and focused on his chosen task – to make sure Saavik had sustained no lasting damage.  
There were traces of a mildly toxic substance, but the only effect was a slight fever, which receded even as he observed. Her broken leg was healing well, considering the damage she had done to it. The damage to her leg muscles was extensive, but easily repaired, and he was pleased to note that her body had already begun the process.  
Spock brought his thoughts back to himself, allowing himself a brief caress of Saavik's unconscious mind before he completely withdrew. He dropped his hand from her face and sighed, returning to his chair. He watched her without moving for a long time.  
  
Spock jerked awake when Saavik stirred and cried out. He hovered at her side, hesitating to touch her, afraid of causing her to injure herself and erase the effects of the healing trance. She opened her eyes and stared at him, then tentatively reached out a hand. He took it, and a wave of relief crossed her face as she closed her eyes. She slept.  
Spock held Saavik's hand for several hours, until she started shivering uncontrollably. Not knowing what else to do, he climbed on the bed and slid under the covers, curling his body protectively around hers. She smiled in her sleep and relaxed into him. He cautiously put his arms around her and held her until he fell asleep.  
  
This could end here, or I could add one last chapter. Depends on the responses I get. Oh, and I didn't proofread this yet, so if you find a typo, I'll probably have it fixed soon. Thanks for reading my story!  



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